


Keep Going

by vaderina



Category: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (Movies)
Genre: Blood, Fighting, Hurt Percival, Hurt/Comfort, Injury, M/M, Percival whump
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-25
Updated: 2018-07-27
Packaged: 2019-06-16 03:55:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,649
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15428481
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vaderina/pseuds/vaderina
Summary: The British and the Americans team up to fight against Grindewald. It's Percival's chance to prove that he's not Grindelwald's puppet and informer because despite everything that's happened not everyone believes him. Nobody believes him when he says he's too injured to continue to fight.





	1. Chapter 1

****

Returning to work after being abducted, tortured and abandoned was difficult. What made it even worse was the distrust that Percival’s return brought to the department. People were wary of him. They fell into two camps on the whole, those who felt pity and guilt for him and those who eyed him with suspicion. Nobody should have been able to return from Grindelwald’s capture alive and well enough to work. Even Seraphina was under mounting pressure to prove his worth to everyone else.

“You’ve got to pull this off Percival,” she had said to him in their last meeting. The opportunity to raid Grindelwald’s stronghold and capture the man had come up. It was an effort in collaboration with the British Ministry of Magic as Grindelwald had taken up residence in their territory.

“I’ll try my best,” Percival had offered with chagrin.

“No, I don’t think you understand. Bring him back or don’t come back at all, I can’t keep them off your back any longer. Half of MACUSA thinks you’re a mole already. To come back from perhaps our only chance of besting Grindelwald unsuccessful will only confirm their suspicions,” Seraphina pushed her quill through the paper she’d been signing. Opposite her Percival swallowed and nodded. It was his final chance to prove himself and his worth. Failure was not an option.

The plan was a fairly simple one all things considered. The Americans would take one end of the compound, the British the other. While there were more American aurors the British had Newt and his creatures with them. Hearing that had made Percival almost walk out in anger, in all their time together and letters exchanged Newt had been adamant that his creatures would never be weaponised. To have them there now meant that either someone was forcing Newt or something had drastically changed. They didn’t have time to talk though, the best they could do was a quick peck on the lips and a “see you on the other side” before they were going their separate ways. When it was all over Percival was going to leave nothing unturned to find out what had prompted Newt to join the fray.

Despite his title as Director it was agreed that Timmins would lead the American teams. Something to do with unrest in the ranks at following a potential traitor but Percival just shrugged it off. If relinquishing the lead was what meant a return to normalcy then he would happily hand over the reins. They worked as a cohesive unit, cleared rooms of curses, followers and creatures. Where they could they disabled rather than outright killed but that wasn’t a luxury they could always afford. It was around the third skirmish that a follower caught Percival off guard. An icy cold pain lanced through his side where a blade pierced him. Of all the magical counter curses and defensive spells he knew Percival was not prepared for something as mundane as a knife. It twisted in him and his knees buckled even as he cast a panicked spell to send his attacked sailing through the air. They crashed into the wall the other side of the room and the knife went clattering from their hand. Percival sank to his knees and pressed a hand against his side. Around him the fighting subsided.

“Get up,” O’Brien nudged his shoulder, “we need to keep moving. Can’t let the Brits get to him first.”

“I need a minute, a knife-”

“We don’t have a minute. We’re all sore and aching. No excuses. Don’t want people to think you’re trying to cry off from inevitable betrayal now so come on,” O’Brien helped haul Percival to his feet and with a final pat to his back rushed to the front of their group. Percival took a moment to catch his breath, tried to manage the pain. He glanced at his palm and frowned at the bright red blood coating it. There was nothing for it, he pushed on.

It was another couple of chambers later that he knew he was in trouble. The heat of the spells being thrown around in the room should have been unbearable but all he could think about was how cold he felt. His fingers were slick with blood, though the standard issue black attack unit uniform hid the colour from his clothes. Percival’s hands shook as he fought not just Grindelwald’s followers but himself. He needed to lock his knees out to stand straight, his reaction time was sluggish. A spell whizzed past him and he barely had time to throw up a shield and protect Fontaine’s back.

“Don’t play the last minute hero, just fight properly,” someone yelled at him and Percival nodded. He squeezed his eyes shut for a moment to dispel the bout of dizziness. He could do it. He had to do it. Forcing his eyes open Percival joined back in.

The room settled and people looked worse for wear. People were bent over and gasping for a breath, soft murmurs of “episkey” could be heard. Blindly Percival reached for a wall, black spots dancing in his vision.

“Please, it hurts,” he almost whimpered.

“We all hurt. This is the job,” Timmins growled. “Smith has a dislocated shoulder, Matthews has taken a hiccough curse, I’ve twisted my ankle. You what? You’re pale because you didn’t have breakfast and now have low blood sugar levels so need to leave? How convenient. I think I speak for everyone here when I say I don’t care.” A few nods went up around the room. “You’ll see this through with the rest of us or you’ll be one of the first to face justice.”

Percival bit his tongue and stumbled after the group. Someone told him to limp faster and he tried to comply. The fighting was desperate, they were all exhausted, injured while their opponents were fresh and just kept coming. He did his best, he really did, fought to protect his team and himself but if felt never ending. The cold had seeped into his core and Percival worked hard to keep his eyes open let alone cast a useful spell. Finally their group approached the sounds of fighting. They haphazardly burst through the doors to a grand hall. The British team was there, looking battered and exhausted, Newt’s creatures were free and wreaking havoc. It was carnage and they all dived in.

Each step was agony, his side burned cold and Percival should have known it was a cursed blade. His own magic fed it with each spell cast. They widened, deepened the wound. Burst of excruciating pain pulled at his flesh. But he had to carry on. He had to capture Grindelwald to prove he was loyal. Percival gritted his teeth and fired another spell even as his whole body shook. He was a MACUSA man through and through and he was going to prove it.

It was the only thing he could think of, the spells he cast more like cries than words but he pushed on. Fought for every one of his people so they could live for another fight. The tide of the battle turned in their favour and the last stragglers of Grindelwald’s followers surrendered.

“He’s not here,” Timmins turned to Percival with a scowl, “you traitor. You tipped him off.”

Percival wanted to reply, wanted to defend himself. His mouth opened but no words came out. Briefly he wondered why there was two of Timmins swaying in front of him, stalking towards him.

“Traitor.” The word rang in his ears and his shoulder hurt. The world was on its side and Percival blinked to make sense of it. Under his cheek the floor was cold and he tried to pull away but his muscles no longer obeyed him. Nobody cared that he’d fallen to the ground. In fact he could hear laughter over the ringing in his ears.

“Traitor.”

“Can’t handle being found out. Look at his pale desperate face.”

“Traitor.”

Percival wanted to deny it. He wasn’t a traitor. Didn’t want that to be the last word he’d heard. But all he could do was let the tears of frustration and pain fall in the face of animosity.

A hand on his shoulder turned him so he couldn’t see Timmins’ furious face anymore. The ceiling above them was cracked.

“Percival?” Newt’s features drifted into view. “You okay?”

“Fine. Sorry I’m a burden. I’m over reacting. I’m fine really. I’ll get over it,” Percival finally found his voice. And he couldn’t stop it. Words slurred over his tongue, false reassurances, apologies meshed together with sighs and bitten back cries when Newt pulled his hand from his side. Blood trickled sluggishly to the floor. Where he’d fallen his trousers left bloody prints behind, sodden with blood as they were. Above him Newt cursed and yelled something but Percival couldn’t hear it any more. A hand on his cheek forced his eyes open and drew his focus. A bottle was pressed to his lips and he choked on the bitter content. It was a blood replenishment potion.

There wasn’t much left to be done. Grindelwald had obviously set them up to fail and had never even set foot in the compound. The aurors wanted to rage but didn’t have the energy. Watching Percival fall to the ground had been bad enough, those not believing his plight had found the strength to snicker until Newt had rushed over. The red that covered their hands when Newt pulled Percival’s away had been alarming. Even worse were the incoherent apologies that Percival pushed out through numb lips. Timmins had taken a few steps closer, stammering but Newt snarled at him in warning. It had been Theseus who’d produced the blood replenishing potion that at least eased the frightfully pale complexion into something less alabaster.

“Gather your men and tell Picquery that Percival will be recuperating with us,” Theseus ordered and helped Newt transfigure a chunk of a statue into a stretcher. As carefully as possible they levitated Percival onto it and the American aurors could only watch as their once boss was whisked away by those that actually cared for him.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is for all of those who asked for a little more recovery and a what happens next kind of thing. In no particular order: fluffyhojo, Nimue_8, Inni and CaseLC - without your encouragement and gentle demands I don't think this would have happened.
> 
> Now with extra comfort and recovery.

Waking up was not a pleasant experience. There was the distant shriek of medically dulled agony coupled with a numbness that could only come from lying in one position for too long. Percival lay and listened to his surroundings, the light too bright to even crack an eye open. An unending bustle came from somewhere to his left.  The soft rustle of someone to his right bothered him but there was nothing he could do to defend himself. His eyes couldn’t open in the face of the light, he couldn’t even raise a hand to cover them. It was safe to say that Percival was at his most vulnerable since his recovery after Grindelwald. A hand was gently laid on his neck while a few fingers trailed across his jaw. It made Percival stiffen in fright and immediately the hand was gone, a low murmur of a reassuring voice replaced it. He couldn’t quite make out the words before the coldness of a charm sent him back to sleep.

It went like that for a while longer. Percival would stir, the noise of life going on about him to his left abated a little at times. There was always someone to his right too. Not always the same person, one would touch him every now and them, a simple hand on his arm or a stroke to his cheeks. The other person would sit and read out loud. Occasionally Percival would hear the words and know it was a story, it was always a children’s story but the endings never seemed to match what he knew. The dragon lived happily ever after as the guardian to the prince. The giant donated the harvest from his beanstalk to the community who lived in poverty below his clouds. Perhaps the most baffling one was where the prince didn’t lose his shoe when the clock struck midnight. Instead the prince holding the ball realised he loved the other prince with his creatures and all so they got engaged on the spot, uncaring of how society judged them.

The voices became more familiar each time Percival clawed his way back to consciousness. And each time the physical aches grew a little dimmer but his heart still felt heavy. Half way through a story about how society urged the evil queen to reject her most loyal advisor and chase him into the woods where he met a man who sang with the birds the story stopped and the book snapped shut.

“Any change?” a new voice asked. It was Newt, Percival realised and his heart thudded in his chest.

“Only as much as before. In and out of consciousness but nothing coherent yet,” Theseus replied. “Have heart little one, it was a close call and the healers said it will be a little while.”

A hand closed around Percival’s, it was warm and work rough, familiar in the best of ways and he let himself drift back to sleep knowing he was safe.

Once more Percival woke up with an inexplicable unease in his chest. It all trickled back to him in little bursts of anguish. How his team, the group of people who were meant to have his back ignored him, left him to die just to punish him for their own feelings in inadequacy. The unfairness of it all overwhelmed him and only a thumb wiping away tears he hadn’t realised were trickling down his temples brought him back to the present.

“You’re safe, no one is going to hurt you,” Newt reassured him. With great effort Percival raised his hand and clutched at Newt’s. He peered up through a hard squint to see Newt staring down at him with a sad smile.

“Why?” Percival tried to ask, his voice no more than a harsh rasp.

“Because I love you?” Newt sounded puzzled and Percival shook his head.

“Why were you there?” Percival tried again and Newt let out a small huff of a laugh. Trust Percival to worry about something completely unrelated to his own predicament.

“We were all fooled. Our sources said he was amassing an army of creatures. If there was such a thing then we needed someone to try and turn their loyalties,” Newt shrugged as he stroked Percival’s hand. “I’m just glad I was there give what happened.”

It brought Percival up short. He hadn’t expected Newt to talk about what had happened. It wasn’t something he really wanted to think about just then, the betrayal was still too raw. Thankfully they didn’t get a chance to continue the conversation as a healer came in and gently shooed Newt out.

Recovery was a process that Percival was intimately familiar with - both the physical and the mental. Truth be told despite the pain and the setbacks he had to prefer injuries to the body as their healing process was a little more linear and better managed even when it went a bit haywire.

For the first time in a long while Percival’s healing wasn’t the isolated process of getting back to his desk as quickly as possible. Back home – if he could call it home – occasionally Seraphina would pop in to see him. But even those visits dwindled down to a perfunctory get well soon card sent via a memo mouse as she got too busy and too important for such frivolities. Here though Newt was a daily presence, usually with a creature (or pest if the orderlies were to be believed with their fond smiles). The niffler brought with it choice beads and coins that it showed Percival with care. He was never allowed to touch them but was permitted to coo over them from a respectful distance and the niffler always hurriedly packed them away when it was time to leave. It was cute when Dougal smuggled him sweets and other treats. Pickett sat in his hair and combed the strands into a messy nest that he could happily hide in. However Percival drew the line when the nundu’s head poked out of Newt’s case while the man’s back was turned.

It wasn’t just Newt and his menagerie that came to visit. Theseus was there a few times a week but without his strange storybooks. Instead they chattered away about old cases, the odd war story and very carefully skirted around the issue of what was next for Percival. Aside from the brothers a few of Theseus’ aurors dropped by as well, first to say sorry for almost being late then they kept returning. Sometimes they brought chocolates, books, and puzzles but other times they just sat in the lone visitors’ chair and talked. Percival’s mind boggled at that. Strangers that he was barely getting to know took time out of their day to spend it with him.

There was a commotion outside the door. Percival sat up in his bed and listened. Voices were arguing, Newt he could easily identify and a woman. What was unexpected was the hiss of Newt’s swooping evil and the door creaked open to show spread wings and swoop rocking from side to side. Newt stepped over the wings into the room looking harried. Behind him Seraphina stared into the room with a grumpy frown but the creature wasn’t deterred. It hissed at her again until Newt whistled for it and shut the door.

“Sorry about that,” he said.

“How long has she been here?” Percival asked and nodded towards the closed door.

“Only just arrived. But I wanted to make sure you wanted to see her before letting her in,” Newt grumbled and placed a tray of food on the bedside table.

“Let her in. You can stay though, I don’t think she’s got much outside of work related things left to say.”

“About that…perhaps you’d talk to Theseus first? She can come back this evening instead,” Newt looked at him hopefully. Before Percival could reply his door opened and an annoyed looking Theseus stepped in.

“There’s rubbish on the doorstep,” he said to Newt who blushed.

“We know,” he gave Percival a meaningful look and Theseus at least had the manners to look a little ashamed.

In the end it turned out Theseus had a job offer for Percival. There couldn’t be two departmental heads however the rules never said anything about having a liaison who could help run training and cases. For his part Newt also offered him the chance to go travelling with him, his publisher willing to cough up the fees for an assistant. It was overwhelming. Percival tried to process what the brothers were offering him. He needed time to think.

A few hours alone meant a lot of time to reflect and weigh up his options. His career in MACUSA had had peaked, it was almost in tattered ruins after Grindelwald and he’d been fighting an uphill battle to recover not just his health but his value in others’ eyes. If anything helped cement his decision it was when his door opened and Seraphina strode in.

“I do have a country to run Percival. I don’t have time to play waiting games to fulfil your need to feel superior. It’s a power move I use myself too so don’t deny it.” It wasn’t quite the greeting Percival had been hoping for from a friend.

“I needed time to think,” he replied.

“You’ll have time for that when you retire. I have drawn up a severance package should you choose to accept.”

That was unexpected. Percival blinked at her, suddenly seeing not an old friend but a stranger he once thought he knew.

“Of course you can refuse and I’ll support you to the best extent I can. But morale is low, confidence is shaky at best,” Seraphina continued.

“Don’t sugar coat it,” Percival groused, part of him expected Seraphina to laugh at his sarcasm like she used to. Instead she stared flatly at him. He rolled his eyes. “Standard severance?”

“Not quite. Aside from the non-disclosure the benefits had to be cut in light of recent events, it also includes a non-working clause. No consultancy work, no working in any other official role within MACUSA or another Ministry. And a barring order from contact with any auror who served under you.”

Silence stretched between them. Seraphina assumed it was Percival thinking while Percival stared at her incredulously. He snorted.

“I would say you know where to shove that severance package. But your head is so far up your own ass that even as small as it is I don’t think it would fit. Consider this my official resignation on standard terms.”

Seraphina gaped at him. A diricrawl chittered under his bed and apparated out of the room. Somewhere outside there was a small whoop before it was shushed. With a small smile Percival wandlessly opened the door and gestured for Seraphina to leave. Before she could get out the room though, Newt and Theseus were piling in with stupid grins on their faces.

“You decided then?” Theseus asked feigning ignorance. His barely contained excitement gave him away though.

“Not quite,” Percival teased, “don’t suppose you have a part time position available or one with extensive field work that just so happens to fall wherever Newt is?”

An occamy wrapped itself around his wrist with a chirrup. Absentmindedly Percival scratched its chin while the brothers looked at him. They all intently ignored Seraphina who gawped at them before left undignified in her retreat.

“I’m sure I could swing it for you old man,” Theseus teased.

“And just how would you manage that?”

“I helped Newt into his job, didn’t I? Sometimes it pays off to be dating the niece of the Minister of Magic.”

**Author's Note:**

> You know the drill. Tumblr - @ladyoftheshrimp


End file.
